Monday, May 25, 2009

As you all have heard, The Boss and I are in the process of moving yet again. This will be the third time we have moved since I started this blog, and as I mentioned last week, the seventh time we've moved since getting married just three years ago. Our family thinks we are nomads, and I'm beginning to think there is some truth in that.

Despite the frequency of our moves (no diarrhea jokes, please), we still have a large quantity of things we don't need. There are entire stacks of boxes and storage bins that we haven't opened in recent history, their contents completely unknown. We always say that we'll sort through them before we move, and we always feel so ambitious to get it done. And yes, try as we may, we always seem to run out of time and end up schlepping them from one apartment to the next.

Not this time, though.

No, really, I swear.

The process has already begun. The Boss and I have gone through a majority of the mystery boxes, and have succeeded thus far in whittling down about 60% of it. It was interesting to see some of the things we had spent our energy on carting around all these years. Most of it was just pure trash. Old receipts, scribbled notes, dead batteries, pay stubs from employers we had ages ago, old magazines... things that really should have been thrown out or shredded ages ago, but for some reason was packed away.

I can't think for the life of me why we would have packed such things. Even the things that weren't your standard-fare garbage were still items that should have been donated or otherwise given away long ago. None of this stuff was worth keeping, not even as a keepsake. I mean, I don't think I would have saved a pair of jeans that hadn't fit me since 2005 for nostalgia's sake. We hadn't gone through three boxes before I had it settled in my mind that we needed to seek therapy for it.

The task of reducing our life down to a couple of truck loads is always a taxing process. We've only got a couple of weeks left to get our shit together, and we are behind a little bit from last weekends trip to visit The Boss' grandmother. We spent all day yesterday sorting and packing and throwing out our junk, and will spend most of the day today doing more of the same. Our lease signing was rescheduled from last week to this afternoon, and I hope to be able to take pictures of our new (and much smaller) place.

It's in my genetic make up to hang on to every single scrap of anything I've ever had in my possession. It's taken me the past 4 years since we settled a little more 'permanently" into our current abode, to really get that urge under control. It seems like you just get a handle on it, and then turn around to find out more stuff has sneakily found it's way back into your home. Where does it all come from?!!

I don't know how you can handle moving so much! I have stayed in a place much longer then I should just because of my pure hatred of moving. And if you need any help getting rid of what you don't need, I am great at that. I tend to get rid of anything that I might go 6 mos without using. My husband gets frustrated with me cuz I get rid of everything!

I was a military brat so we were always moving - we had a lot of mystery boxes too and it surprising at how much junk you carry around with you - on the side of this is that sometimes you open a box and find things long forgotten that bring back a crap load of memories and it feels like you're a kid at Christmas time.

I dread the day when I have to move again. I have amassed so much stuff that I should probably start sorting through it now if I hope to be able to move within five years :) It's like you said, a lot of it ends up being junk that you just never threw away. Good luck with the continued sorting and purging!

Going through those boxes stinks, but it's also refreshing once it's done.

I spent Monday in my basement....going through boxes we packed and moved to this house 2 years ago.....the ones that haven't been opened yet. The amount of stuff that can just go away is amazing!!!! :-)